Bailey Olson’s goal and two assists lifted the Wisconsin-River Falls women’s hockey team past Amherst College, 3-1, in the NCAA Division III national championship game on Sunday afternoon in River Falls, Wisconsin.

Olson, who concluded the season as the top point-producer in Division III women’s hockey with 60 points in 30 games, factored into all three of the Falcons goals against the Mammoths, as River Falls reclaimed the national title for the second straight season.

“It’s like every time I pick up a scoresheet it [says] Bailey Olson all over it,” Falcons head coach Joe Cranston said.

Olson was named the recipient of the Laura Hurd Award — given to the best player in Division III women’s hockey — earlier in the week, as voted by the American Hockey Coaches Association.

Amherst freshman Bea Flynn grabbed the Mammoths’ lone goal of the contest while junior goalie Natalie Stott did all she could to limit the Falcons’ potent offense with 25 saves on the afternoon. Flynn finished her first year with the Mammoths with a six-game point streak, while Stott limited the country’s best scoring attack (181 goals as a team this season) to three goals. Sunday counted as the sixth time this year the Falcons were held to three goals or fewer.

“I thought you had the two top teams in the country playing today,” Amherst head coach Jeff Matthews said. “River Falls, I’d say that was the best team we’ve played all year. They’re a great hockey team. Again, they have a great culture. I thought they played with a lot of class as well and showed a lot of class at the end there. They’ve got a deep squad up front and on defense. I thought we showed a lot of heart to hang in there after dropping down 2-0.”

All four goals in this one were had during the second period.

Makenna Aure gave River Falls the 1-0 advantage 40 seconds into the middle stanza. On a 2-on-1 rush, Olson slid the puck over to Aure and after briefly losing control, Aure flicked the puck over Stott’s sprawling body to put the home crowd on its feet.

The Falcons appeared to have doubled their lead at seven minutes, eight seconds on a goal from Madison Kadrlik, but the referees called it off. River Falls then challenged the decision and after video review, it was determined Kadrlik scored legally. The refs were believed to be looking at whether Kadrlik kicked the puck in or not.

“In situations like that, self-doubt can start to creep in,” Matthews said on what he told his team after the goal review. “You got to stay mentally strong … and stay together as a group. They’ve shown that all year time and again.”

About four minutes later, Flynn jammed home her 15th of the season for Amherst following a rebound from Falcons goalie Jordan O’Kane (16 saves). Annabel Raffin and Ayla Abban earned assists on the play, which cut the host’s lead to 2-1 at 11:53.

But with three minutes to go in the second, Olson showed why she’s the best of the best with a skilled strike for the Falcons. Olson faked out Stott behind the net as she appeared to go for a wraparound, but instead opted for a quick pivot back to the near post and tucked the puck into the open net as River Falls regained its two-goal cushion.

Down 3-1 during the third period, the Mammoths didn’t quit as they outshot the Falcons 8-6 in the final 20 minutes, yet they couldn’t break through a second time to earn the national runners-up trophy for the second time in three seasons.

“I think we put a lot of focus on keeping things simple,” River Falls captain Allisen Carothers said. “Especially as us [defenders], looking for the simple pass, the simple breakout instead of trying to make a cross-ice pass through three people or something. Just making simple plays and winning battles on the boards, those are all big things.”

Stott, junior Gretchen Dann and senior Alyssa Xu were named to the All-Tournament team during the postgame award ceremony.

“In my 13 years, this is the most parity I’ve seen at the top,” Matthews said. “No one ran away with it, everyone had strengths and weaknesses, so I think that makes culture even more important. I think a lot of our success in the last few years can be attributed to our culture.

“We changed a few things up going into that 2019-20 season, as culture became more important,” Matthews added. “We really leaned on love. It sounds corny but these guys really love each other.”

Amherst finished the season with 23-6-1 record and its sixth NESCAC championship. Its six-player senior class of Xu, Anna Baxter, Kelsey Stewart, Maggie Groszek, Julia Weiss and Kaila Bush closed out their careers with the Mammoths.

“One word is grateful, to be a part of it,” Baxter said. “Not taking anything for granted, just being very appreciative to be able to play with the people that we played with and for the program and for the school. I think everyone is very grateful to be in that position and to play at such a high level and compete at that high level.”